


Touching Darkness

by Koyote19



Series: Giving Gifts - A lovestory in reverse [3]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Angst, Dubious Consent, M/M, elements of cheating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2014-12-15
Packaged: 2018-03-01 13:57:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2775578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Koyote19/pseuds/Koyote19
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Happily-ever-after rarely starts that way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Touching Darkness

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place before Giving Gifts and Like Oxygen, but while all three fics are technically able to be read as stand-alones, they are intended to be read in the order they are listed.
> 
> Set during Endless Waltz.

Trowa felt Duo stirring, limbs thrashing slightly in the uncoordinated manner that told him the younger pilot was still mostly unconscious. He wished there was a more comfortable way for him to carry Duo than over his shoulder, but it would have looked far too suspicious for a guard to be transporting an obvious prisoner cradled carefully in his arms. This would be a whole lot easier if he could walk on his own.

It was almost a relief to finally reach the holding cell that had been his own home in the not so distant past; especially since this time, he had the keys to the heavy iron door. Opening it one handed, the other still holding firmly to his weakly squirming cargo, he stepped into the cell and knelt to deposit his burden on the bare floor. Duo moaned, curling slightly around abused stomach muscles as Trowa eased him carefully to the ground. _Shit._

“Maxwell?” There was no response. _Dammit, Heero— did you have to hit him quite that hard? Not all of us are made out of gundanium like you are._ Shoving Maxwell flat, he tugged his black overshirt up, and then peeled the white undershirt up as well. He could see the first marks of bruising against smooth flesh, disappearing beneath the waistband of the loose black pants. 

_I don’t have time for this._ In spite of himself, he couldn’t help staring down at the other pilot in fascination; unconscious, with his braid unravelling around his face and his wrists locked together with heavy cuffs, the young man looked almost innocent. Forcing himself back to the task at hand, he quickly unfastened Duo’s pants, slipping them down enough to reveal the majority of the bruising across his stomach. _Damn. That’s going to hurt._

He kept his mind on business as he quickly ran a hand across darkening skin, probing gently for any internal injuries. Duo moaned softly. Glancing up, Trowa caught only a glimpse of dazed, panicked blue eyes. Then the heavy cuffs around the other’s wrists were heading for his face. Throwing himself back, he swore softly.

“Maxwell!” he hissed softly, moving quickly to pin the prisoner down. Catching hold of bound wrists, he forced them to the floor over Duo’s head and held them there with one hand. The other was planted firmly in the center of Duo’s chest to hold him down. A knee slammed into the side of his head, and he quickly moved to straddle the younger man and sat on his legs. “Maxwell… Duo… calm down.”

“No!” Duo thrashed beneath him, anger and fear lending him the strength to fight past the pain. “Get… off.”

“Duo!” Using his own weight to hold the younger man still, Trowa waited impatiently for him to exhaust himself. “Duo… It’s me. It’s okay. Calm down.”

“T-Trowa?” Duo stared up at him, his eyes still far too dazed for Trowa’s liking, even though the panic was slowly fading into bewildered shock. 

“Shhh.” He was careful to keep the younger man pinned, as he moved his right hand from Duo’s chest to his face. “Hold still…” Stroking tangled hair out of the hazed eyes, he sighed. He couldn’t help wincing at the feel of the younger man’s body tense against his own, and pressing into all the wrong places. _Really not the time for this… but damn he feels good._

“Trowa?” The uncertainty in Duo’s voice hit him, making him feel oddly guilty. “What the…?

“Hold still. I need to see how badly hurt you are.”

“Huh?”

“Just be still.” Moving his hand back down, he quickly resumed his examination. And then froze, his hand still tucked into the open front of Duo’s pants and resting against warm skin. Duo was staring at him with wide eyes, looking if possible, even more unnerved than he had before. “Duo?”

The pale face beneath him suddenly flushed a bright red, visible even in the dim light of the cell.

“No…” He wasn’t sure if the plea was meant for him, or not. Not that it mattered. He could feel his own body responding to the feel of Duo squirming beneath him, and the very obvious signs that Duo was reacting to him. Forcing himself back under control, he sighed again.

“Duo-- I’m not going to hurt you. You have to trust me.”

“Please, don’t—” Duo looked away, his eyes roving desperately around the bare cell. ”Let me go!”

“You’re my lover’s best friend,” Trowa whispered harshly. “Do you really think I’ll hurt you?” 

“I…” Duo bit his lip, then forced himself to relax, though he was still looking everywhere but at Trowa. Trowa could feel him going still, though his muscles were still tight and clenched beneath him. “I—trust you.” 

“Lie still,” he urged, then finished the examination as quickly as he could. “I don’t think you have any internal injuries.”

“Good.” Duo twisted beneath him. “It fucking hurts though.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” Trowa reluctantly pulled his hand back out of the other’s pants, then moved to brush the long, unruly bangs out of his eyes. Needs he had kept locked away since he had first started sleeping with Heero surged to the surface, and he felt his resistance crumble beneath the onslaught. Duo caught his breath with a gasp, and finally looked up at him uncertainly. 

“Trowa?” 

“Gods, Duo—” He couldn’t help sinking the fingers of his free hand into the mass of escaping chestnut hair. Duo went still beneath him again, his eyes wide with confusion.

“Tro? What are you—?”

“Shhh.” Knowing it was wrong, knowing he had no right, he couldn’t help giving in to temptation. Bending down, he pressed his lips against Duo’s, kissing him harshly. _It’s been too long. Damn but my control is shot. What is he doing to me? I shouldn’t… I can’t._ Duo tensed beneath him, as if he intended to fight back; then relaxed again as he gave in to the kiss. _That’s it-- trust me. I won’t harm you._

Deepening the kiss, he plunged his tongue into the warm mouth beneath him, teasing until Duo had no choice but to respond. He slid his hand down rumpled clothing to brush warm skin; moving lower to reach between them and caress firming flesh through dark cotton.

It was the clatter of running feet outside the cell that broke the moment, and Trowa realized what he was doing with a sickened groan. _Fuck!_ Shoving himself off the younger man, he scrambled to his feet. Duo blinked up at him, the confusion and shock in his eyes painful to see.

“Trowa?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have... I’m sorry!” With a last groan, Trowa forced himself to leave the cell. The door slammed shut, hiding the sight of his teammate’s wide eyes from him. “Heero--what the hell was I doing?” 

***

Trowa glanced at the chronometer, forcing himself to wait patiently. _Where the hell is she?_ It had been nearly twenty minutes since Sally had left to find the other prisoners. _I hope Cathy’s okay. They should be safe enough now that the colony is stabilized again. Sally better have remembered to tell her where to find Duo._ His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the shuttle lock opening.

“Hey, thanks for helping me out of there.” Trowa winced internally at the slightly sarcastic note in Duo’s voice. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to just bring me with you in the first place?”

Trowa shrugged. “I wasn’t waiting for you. I was waiting for someone else.” He wondered if he should point out that he hadn’t been sure Duo could make it from the cell to the shuttle. He’d been on the receiving end of Heero’s fists before, and knew just how hard the Wing Zero pilot could hit when he forgot to pull his punches. Glancing back, he somehow wasn’t surprised that the other pilot was not meeting his eyes.

“Thanks for waiting, Trowa.” Sally stepped into the shuttle before he could think of what to say to Duo. “Let’s go.”

“Oh. I see how it is…” Duo slumped into the co-pilot’s seat with a faint wince. 

“Hello Duo— good of you to join us.” Trowa could feel Sally glancing from him to Duo with a frown. “How’s the stomach?”

“What, did you have to tell the whole colony?” Duo sighed. “So, where are we going?”

“Meeting up with Quatre to get the Gundams.” Trowa started the engines without looking around again. It was only once they were clear of the colony that he let himself glance over at Duo. The younger pilot was sitting hunched in his seat, studying the navigation console and carefully not looking at Trowa. _Shit… I have completely fucked this up._

“Maybe Sally should take a look at you before you try and get in a Gundam.” 

“I’m fine,” Duo muttered stubbornly. “It’s just a bruise. I’ve piloted ‘Scythe with worse.”

“I don’t mind,” Sally offered, the tone of her voice indicating she was picking up on the tension between the two pilots.

“It’s _fine_.” Duo scowled at both of them as he stood up and stalked towards the back of the shuttle. 

“Is he going to be able to pilot?” Sally asked Trowa as she slipped into the seat that Duo had abandoned. “How hard did Heero hit him, anyway?”

“He’s fine.” Trowa shook his head. “He’s right. He’s piloted with worse. Better to just let him cool off for a bit.” _I’ll talk to him once he’s calmed down a little. Something tells me he wouldn’t be inclined to listen right now._

***

Waking took an amazing amount of effort, leaving no energy left to force his eyes to open. There was no pain, though he rather thought there should be; perhaps the odd sensation that the bed was rotating and that he was going to fall off at any minute had something to do with that. _I…really hate morphine._

Too weak to clutch at the heavy blankets covering him, he lay still and tried to gather up his energy. _Where am I?_ He knew he was drifting— could tell as the amount of light beating against his eyelids changed. _How…long?_

Dark. Light. Heat. Cold fingers against his face, then slipping around his fingers to squeeze slightly. He wanted to squeeze back, but couldn’t actually force his fingers to obey him. _Trowa?_

“Hey, Heero.” The voice drifted against his ears. _Not Trowa._ At first that was all his scattered brain could comprehend. Then the source of the voice finally registered. “Guess you saved the Earth again, huh buddy?” _Duo._

_Did I?_ He lost himself in fuzzy attempts to remember, then finally gave it up. _I must have… Duo doesn’t lie._ He felt very sure of that fact, despite the small voice in the back of his head that insisted that everybody lied sooner or later.

“Guess you must be wondering why I snuck in here, ‘stead of waiting for visiting hours.” There was a small, sad laugh. “Not sure myself, except that I wanted to say goodbye. I know you can’t hear me, but at least I’ll know I said it.”

_I hear you…why the… fuck… did they have to put…me on fucking morphine?_

“Anyway, I’m heading out. I suppose Wu Fei would call it runnin’ away again. Whatever…”

_Out? Out where…?_

“Just wanted you to know. I’m not mad at you, ‘cause you hit me or nothing.” 

_I hit… Duo?_

“I understand why you did it and all. It still hurts like hell though. You gotta learn to pull those punches some, man” Duo sighed. “Anyway. I wanted to wait till you woke up… but I don’t dare. T-Trowa’s been looking for me, and I don’t… I don’t…” The voice choked off, then started again. “And I’m not mad at him either. I just… I can’t. I can’t be here. So I’m going. Take care of yourself, okay?”

_Trowa…hit Duo?_

Cold fingers squeezed his one last time, but it was the warm lips pressed to his that made his senses swim in confusion. “I love you guys. Take care of each other, okay? I’ll—I’ll see ya around someday.” Something wet hit his cheek, tickling as it rolled to the edge of his ear.

Gathering up all of his fading energy, he forced his eyes open, and blinked in the dim light. There was no one in the room… his fingers were curled against the cold steel rail of the bed. 

“Duo?” He forced the word out from between dry lips, though it sounded more like a hiss of escaping air than speech. Silence was the only answer. He closed his eyes again, exhausted, and let the darkness cover him once again. _Dammit… I really hate morphine._

**Author's Note:**

> I have debated for a couple of years whether to actually post the last story in this arc. But while taking a break from working on Madness, I started tinkering with this one again.


End file.
